The term “liberal education” is conventionally taken to mean a philosophy of education that empowers individuals, liberates the mind from ignorance, and cultivates social responsibility. Liberal education is characterized by challenging encounters with important issues, and is more a way of studying than specific content.

As a liberal arts college, we facilitate close interaction between faculty and students, while grounding our curricula in the liberal arts disciplines: the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages and the arts.

Intellectual and practical skills, including inquiry and analysis, critical and creative thinking, written and oral communication, quantitative literacy, information literacy, and teamwork and problem solving.

Personal and social responsibility, including civic knowledge and engagement–local and global, intercultural knowledge and competence, ethical reasoning and action, and foundations and skills for lifelong learning.

Integrative learning, including synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies.

Experiential learning, including integration of the academic world and the external world, application of skills to practical challenges, reflection on practical experiences.

Outcomes of a liberal arts education at Earlham:

skills at collecting and interpreting information and formulating judgments;

Earlham College, an independent, residential college, aspires to provide the highest-quality undergraduate education in the liberal arts, including the sciences, shaped by the distinctive perspectives of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).